Carrot Cake Pancakes

12Apr

I forget how I found this recipe, but when I did I knew I needed to give it a try. It was an interesting experiment, but I don’t think I’ll try it again. Pancakes with this much other stuff in them seem to cook oddly, and, mine at least, ended up pretty rubbery. The taste was delicious, though!

Pancake Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts [I didn’t use any]

2 tablespoons golden raisins

1 large egg

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups finely grated carrots

3 tablespoons butter, for griddle

Cream Cheese Topping Ingredients

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Dash of ground cinnamon

Instructions

Place a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat to 200°F. This will keep the finished pancakes warm.

To make pancakes: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and, if using, nuts and raisins. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in carrots. Stir carrot mixture into dry ingredients, stirring until just incorporated. Let rest for five minutes while you make the cream cheese topping.

To make cream cheese topping: In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy and not lumpy. Whisk in powdered sugar, two tablespoons milk, vanilla and cinnamon. If you’d like a thinner topping, add the remaining tablespoon of milk.

Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a cast-iron skillet or griddle pan. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into the hot pan per pancake, flipping once, until pancakes are golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer finished pancakes to a serving dish or tray in the oven, to keep warm while you repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more butter as needed.